Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previous studies have found that self-employed workers with long business tenure earn less than other workers with similar characteristics. This difference in earnings can be explained by the compensating wage differential theory when self-employed jobs have attractive, non-pecuniary aspects. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 (NLSY79), I test whether moves in and out of self-employment are associated with changes in global job satisfaction. By looking at changes in job satisfaction for individuals over time, I overcome the difficulty of interpreting differences in subjective job satisfaction scores across individuals that cross-sectional analysis would require. Using my estimates, I calculate the monetary value of the non-pecuniary aspects of self-employment and find that the value of self-employment in terms of job satisfaction is sufficiently high enough to support the compensating differential hypothesis as an explanation for lower earnings among self-employed workers.

Bibliography Citation

Kawaguchi, Daiji. "Compensating Wage Differentials among Self-Employed Workers: Evidence from Job Satisfaction Scores." Working Paper No. 568, the Institute of Social and Economic Research - Osaka University, June 2002.

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The widespread use of illicit substances by American teenagers has attracted the interest of both the public and academic researchers. Among the various factors that people believe influence youth substance use, peer effects are identified as a critical determinant; substance use is considered a highly social behavior. Identifying peer effects, however, is not an easy task. Common teenage behaviors can be due to similar unobserved characteristics of the group members or peer effects. Moreover, it is difficult to pinpoint whether a subject is affecting the group members' behaviors or vice versa. In addition, both current substance users and the backgrounds of peer group members may affect an individual's behaviors. Although both types of effects are called "peer effects," each has different policy implications. Distinguishing between these two types of effects, however, is difficult. In an attempt to overcome these difficulties, I estimate peer effects on substance usage among American teenagers using perceived peer behavior in National Longitudinal Survey Youth 97. School and household fixed effect estimation are also employed to ensure the robustness of the results. The data indicate robust peer effects. Moreover, the results do not change substantially in school and household fixed effect estimations.

Bibliography Citation

Kawaguchi, Daiji. "Peer Effects on Substance Use Among American Teenagers." Discussion Paper No. 567, Institute of Social and Economic Research - Osaka University, May 2002.